Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah

Classification: Meccan (except for verses 81 and 82, which are Medinan). Verse Count: 96 verses (some say 97). Chronology: Revealed after Sūrat Ṭāhā.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1. When the Event (the Resurrection) occurs,

2. There is no denying its occurrence.

3. It will bring down (some to Hell) and raise up (others to Paradise).

4. When the earth is shaken with a violent shaking,

5. And the mountains are crumbled into dust,

6. Becoming scattered particles (like dust in the air),

7. And you become three categories:

{When the Event occurs} It is like saying: "The inevitable has happened," or "The incident has taken place." The intended meaning is the Resurrection. It is described as "occurring" because it will inevitably happen; it is as if it were said: "When that which must occur occurs." The "occurrence" of a matter is its descent. It is said: "What I was expecting has occurred," meaning: "What I was waiting to descend has descended."

If you ask: "What governs the accusative case of idha (when)?" I say: It is governed by laysa (is not), as in your saying: "On Friday, there is no work for me." Or it is governed by an omitted verb, meaning: "When it occurs, such and such will happen." Or it is governed by the implied command: "Remember."

{Lying} Meaning a "lying soul." That is, when it occurs, there will be no soul that lies about God or lies in denying the Unseen, because every soul at that time will be a believer, truthful, and affirming. Today, most souls are liars and deniers, as in His saying: {But when they saw Our punishment, they said, "We believe in Allah alone"} (Ghafir: 84), {They will not believe in it until they see the painful punishment} (Ash-Shu‘ara: 201), and {And those who disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt of it until the Hour comes to them suddenly} (Al-Hajj: 55). The lam (in kadhibatun) is like the one in His saying: {He says, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life"} (Al-Fajr: 24).

Or, it means: There is no soul that lies to it (the soul) and says to it, "You will not be," just as there are many souls today that lie to it, saying, "You will not be."

Or, it is derived from their saying: "His soul lied to him in a great affair," when it encourages him to undertake it, saying to him: "You can handle it and more, so face it and do not worry." The meaning is: It is an event of such intensity and horror that no soul will then speak to its owner as it does during great affairs, adorning for them the endurance and ability to handle it, because they will be, on that day, too weak and humiliated for that. Do you not see His saying: {Like moths, dispersed} (Al-Qari‘ah: 4)? Moths are a metaphor for weakness.

It is also said that kadhibatun is a verbal noun (masdar), like al-‘aqibah, meaning "denial," from your saying: "He charged at his opponent and did not kadhaba," meaning: he did not show cowardice or hesitation. Its reality is: he did not lie to his own soul regarding what it told him of his ability to handle it and his boldness toward it. Zuhayr said: "When the lion does not 'lie' (hesitate) before his opponents..." Meaning: When it occurs, there will be no return or retreat for it.

{Bringing low, raising high} Meaning: It is bringing low and raising high; it raises some people and lowers others. This is either a description of the event’s intensity—for great events are such that people rise to ranks and others fall—or because the wretched are lowered to the depths and the happy are raised to the heights. Or, it means it shakes things and removes them from their foundations, lowering some and raising others, as the sky falls in pieces, the stars scatter and dim, and the mountains move, passing through the atmosphere like clouds. It is also read as khafidatan rafi‘atan (in the accusative) as a state (hal).

{Shaken} It is moved violently until everything upon it—mountains and buildings—collapses.

{And the mountains are crumbled} They are pulverized until they become like flour, or they are driven away, from the "driving of the ‘anam (flock)." It is like His saying: {And the mountains are removed} (An-Naba’: 20).

{Dispersed} Scattered. It is also read with a ta (munbattan), meaning: broken off. It is also read as rujjat wa bussat, meaning: it shook and vanished. In the speech of Bint al-Khuss: "Her eye is swollen, and her prayer is shaking (raj), and she walks with a limp (tafaj)."

If you ask: "What governs the accusative of idha in idha rujjatin?" I say: It is a substitute for idha waqa‘at. It is also permissible for it to be governed by khafidatan rafi‘atan, meaning: it lowers and raises at the time the earth is shaken and the mountains are crumbled, because at that time, that which is high is lowered and that which is low is raised.

{In pairs} Meaning: In categories. It is said of categories that are together, or mentioned together: they are azwaj (pairs/groups).

{Then the companions of the right—what are the companions of the right? And the companions of the left—what are the companions of the left?}